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Friday, 30 August 2013

Sleeping With The Beast by Dale Ryan - Mini Book Review

by Raymond Mathiesen

4 out of 5 stars

Our Pets And Who We Are...

When Dale Ryan was a
child people had the idea the life should be very ordered and
hierarchical. Everything had its place
and a dogs place was certainly in the yard, or perhaps in the kitchen. (p.109) As the title Sleeping With The Beast suggests, this book certainly
doesn’t take that position, though it does not propose that life with dogs must
be chaotic, dirty and ugly. Dale Ryan
has been a dog lover since childhood when her family owned Charcoal, an adored
but ill-fated canine. (p. 14-15) Dale
has owned15 dogs over the years, and this book reveals the personality of a
kind soul who takes the time to care, to think about life from a perspective
different from her own, and to be flexible enough to adapt to those differences
however possible. Dale is qualified in
art and design (Bachelor of Science Degree in Art Education) and this book is
filled with beautiful, colour photographs that add to the text and demonstrate
that a less ordered life is not necessarily an unpleasant, disordered life. These photos illustrate practical solutions
to the problems of having dogs as companions, a less seemly dog-fight, and most
of all dogs just being dogs.

The idea of the “beast”
is central to this book and Dale plays with the meaning, sometimes referring to
the obvious dogs, sometimes referring to man, and sometimes meaning ‘beastly,’
as in ‘not nice.’ We see ourselves as
separate from nature and the animals, but of course we are always in nature
even in our ordered homes, and, as scientists remind us, we are animals
ourselves. This is a very Taoist idea
(Alan Watts. The Tao Of Philosophy: Tuttle Publishing, 2002, p. 17-34) and the
book is indeed lightly philosophic, in a common sense kind of way. Following from the idea that dogs and man are
similar, it is no surprise to find that much of the advice about living with
dogs is at the same time applied to people.
The book is very nitty-gritty and practical and the suggestions are
indeed useful to all of us (dogs and people).
Of course much in Sleeping With The Beast could apply to any animal,
especially domesticated animals such as cats and birds.

A second important idea
in Dale’s book is ‘family.’ As she
points out in her Introduction (p.13-17) we once had a very limited idea of the
nuclear family (mother and father and two children), but since the 1960s our
notions have broadened. We have single
parent families, second marriage families, defacto families, LGBTI families,
etc. It is Dale’s idea that our pets can
very much be seen as part of our family and that they are are perhaps as
something like children. As a result
this is a very family oriented book and the reader will find much information
in it that will benefit their whole family and not just their dogs. For example Chapter 2 Decorative Dogs
contains very practical information on decorating a house with both children
and dogs in mind: what applies to one generally applies to the other.

Dale is an artist and
much of this book shows a touch of her skills in that field. She displays an artist’s observation when she
notes that dogs have a heightened sense of smell and therefore enjoy being in
the kitchen when you cook (p. 49) and also playing in herb gardens. (p. 68) Similarly, she shows an artist’s contemplative
thought when she wonders if dogs really like having their heads patted. (p.
85) Most of all she demonstrates
drafting skills when she observes that living with dogs requires planning. (p.
30) My point is that, as I have said,
this book is very practical. To take
this argument further I note Dale observes that, like us, dogs are pack animals
and need the company of other dogs. You
therefore should not really have just one dog (p. 86). Dana Kramer-Rolls, in The Way Of The Cat
(Conari Press, 2004, p.85-105) makes a similar point about cats. With a little thought this idea is very
obvious, but in our “Take One Home For The Kiddies” (Philip Larkin. The Whitsun
Weddings, 1960) attitude we purchase just one and then go out to work leaving
them alone all day, locked in the yard, or even worse in the flat. The books practicality is very much enhanced
by the inclusion of a “Tips” list at the end of each chapter. These tips are summaries of the useful ideas
in the chapter and are very good for easy reference, saving the reader from
having to leaf through pages.

Balancing its
practicality the book also contains a little philosophy. Dale considers, for example why we like dogs
(p.17-18). Similarly she considers the
nature of dogs (p. 48) and the nature of man (p. 79).

Of course no situation
is perfect and it would not ring true if Dale insisted that dogs are faultless
pets. She has indeed included some
criticisms of dogs, such as their eating habits and the possibility of
aggression/fighting. (p. 54)

To my mind there are
one or two minor faults in the book.
First, the recipe “Clementine’s Classic Chicken Soup” (p.55) involves a
total of one hour and twenty minutes cooking time and seems very ‘overdone,’
leaving not much nutritional value.
Second, Dale’s suggestion of a white cover sheet for the bed seems very
much the wrong colour as it will immediately show every speck of dirt. These are, as I say, minor quibbles.

Dale has a very friendly
writing voice and her book is entertaining and easy to read. The many illustrative stories she includes
from her family life very much help us to feel ‘at home’ with the book.

In brief the book
covers:

A general comparison
between man and dog and their inner nature as social animals

The challenges and
bonuses of living with dogs

Decorating and
remodelling your house so that it’s dog friendly

Cooking for your dog,
with special consideration to health

Designing your bedroom
with dogs in mind, and the psychology of sleeping with dogs

Making your garden a
safe and friendly environment for dogs

Problems that can arise
from living with dogs, including human problems such as cruelty

Raising dogs from
puppies

How to cope when dogs
die, and what to do in case the owner dies

Dale Ryan has written a
more unusual book about the relationship between dogs and man. Sleeping With The Beast is full of down-to-earth practical
tips about living with dogs. It also
contains some observations and philosophy about what the man/dog relationship reveals
and indeed some thoughts about society in general. This is a very friendly book and a for any
dog owner joy to read. It is beautifully
illustrated with full colour photographs and would make an excellent coffee
table book.

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Raymond Mathiesen In Brief

Qualifications

I have a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in literature (James Cook University of North Queensland). In that degree I obtained minors in psychology, modern history and economics.I also have a Graduate Diploma of Library Science in which my studies included management and communications (Queensland University of Queensland).

IdeologyOf course I should give some idea of my predispositions and agendas.

I was brought up in a strong Evangelic Christian tradition, but as an older adult have certainly left that ideology. I have some interest in Eastern religion, but more properly could be discribed as spiritual rather than religious. I am interested in questions of ethics, meaning and being, and the highest aspects and achievements of humanity.

Susan McMichael In Brief

Qualifications

I received my B.A. (Hons) from the University of New England, Armidale, in 1992, majoring in English. I focused on Victorian and American literature. I have also studied Psychology and French.

I have been reading Sylvia Plath since 1983, and studied both Plath and Ted Hughes,at UNE.

Ideology

The Left and the Right are apparently no longer in fashion. We expanded the text and now it has flowed everywhere.

At this rate, Leavis will soon be popular again. Ideology often feels like shifting sands, or a map whose directions I don't really want to follow. Suffice to say, that I don't like Critical Theory, but have read it; feminism is a changing ideology with equality at its core and thank goodness for post modernism, (which has been around for a while).